Bon Appetit Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Tart

[ljt2r]

Definitely Holiday meal worthy. great choice for Christmas or New Years eve. very rich, decadent, and if you have better hands than me, probably a showstopper as well. Even mine was pretty elegent once sliced and served with whipped cream.
My pics are here.

Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Tart
Very closely adapted from Bon Appetit

Crust:
1 cup (126 g) AP
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 t salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 T (or more) ice water

Ganache:
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao; see my notes on my blog), chopped
1 1/2 cups unsalted macadamia nuts (about 7 1/2 ounces), toasted , coarsely chopped (I used hazelnuts)

Caramel filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t salt

coarse salt for sprinkling on the tart, optional (this was my sister's and my addition)

Set aside a 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.

For crust: Place the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a processor and pulse several times to blend. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1 tablespoon ice water and blend just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Dump the moist crumbs out onto the tart pan. Using lightly floured fingers, press dough firmly and evenly onto bottom and up sides of pan. Chill the crust 1 hour.

Position a rack in the center of oven and preheat to 375 F. Line the crust gently with foil, and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust until it is pale golden around the edges and the sides are set, about 20 minutes. Gently remove the foil and beans; bake until the crust is golden and cooked through, about 14 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool crust completely in pan.

For ganache: Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir until smooth--if it is not completely melted and smooth, microwave in 30 second increments on 50% power until it can be whisked smooth (should not take much).

Spoon 3 tablespoons ganache into 1 corner of a small resealable plastic bag and seal; set aside at room temperature for piping. Pour the remaining ganache evenly over bottom of crust and gently spread it out. Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts or macadamia nuts evenly over the ganache layer in the crust. Freeze the crust while preparing caramel filling.
For the caramel filling: Combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and increase the heat to boil without stirring until syrup is golden amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes. The thermometer should read about 340 F (this is my addition--Bon Appetit just said 8 minutes, which made me nervous so I did some research). Remove the pan from the heat and remove the theromemeter, setting it aside within reach. Add the cream and butter; stir until any caramel bits dissolve and the mixture is smooth. Re-attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pan and bring the caramel to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil without stirring until thermometer registers 240°F, about 2 1/2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Whisk in the vanilla and salt.

Remove the prepared crust from the freezer. Working quickly, pour the caramel filling slowly into the crust (I had too much caramel and it overflowed the crust--this was not the end of the world but it would have been better had I stopped when the caramel was level with the edges of the pan). Gently shake the tart pan to allow the filling to settle evenly in the crust. Cool completely at room temperature, about 3 hours.

Place reserved resealable plastic bag with chocolate ganache in microwave and heat in 5-second intervals just until smooth and pourable. Using scissors, cut off very small tip (I cut mine too large on accident--hence the odd jail pattern on my tart!) from the corner of the bag with the ganache. Pipe the ganache decoratively over caramel filling in crosshatch pattern. Chill until chocolate is set, about 20 minutes. The tart can be made 2 days ahead, just cover and keep chilled. Bring tart to room temperature before serving. Sprinkle with coarse salt before serving if desired. To serve, remove the sides from the tart pan. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges.

Bon Appetit recommended ice cream, I tried whipped cream. Half of us strongly preferred the tart plain and half of us strongly preferred the whipped cream.

[oceanjasper]

I think you just helped me decide what dessert to bring to an upcoming potluck dinner! Looks amazing!

[Linda in MO]

Oh, that looks to-die-for!

[Earlgrey]

Agreed, this is a beautiful festive dessert and not hard to make. I used macadamia nuts (which I love), but used the sweet cookie tart dough from Pierre Hermes' chocolate book. The piping worked out fine, although I am as incapable of doing nice straight lines with chocolate as I am with all other materials. I do better with writing, so I put Happy Thanksgiving and the names of the three kids/babies in attendance on there as well - I always find it hard to stop...
Big plus: The tart can be made ahead!

[ljt2r]

Originally Posted by Earlgrey

Agreed, this is a beautiful festive dessert and not hard to make. I used macadamia nuts (which I love), but used the sweet cookie tart dough from Pierre Hermes' chocolate book. The piping worked out fine, although I am as incapable of doing nice straight lines with chocolate as I am with all other materials. I do better with writing, so I put Happy Thanksgiving and the names of the three kids/babies in attendance on there as well - I always find it hard to stop...
Big plus: The tart can be made ahead!

That was smart-- afterwards I asked myself why hadn't I just tried to do squiggles or partial circles or something? Anything other making it look like the tart was behind bars in jail!

And yeah the make ahead was a plus for me too.

[oct2189]

And you were so worried about this dish...HAH!
Looks like it cut perfectly!

[Wendi]

I made something similar which was a BIG hit...same idea but just caramel and chocolate in a chocolate crust. Of the 7 desserts at the Thanksgiving table, this was the hit!

You can see the recipe and the pic here

FOR THE CRUST:
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. dutch-process unsweetened
cocoa powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE CARAMEL
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. crème fraîche

FOR THE GANACHE
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Gray sea salt for garnish

1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Transfer dough to a 9" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. ***** the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

2. Make the caramel: In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.

3. Make the ganache: Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.
SERVES 8
This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #119
just the recipe:

Easy, but a showstopper!!